James Locke was fighting a cold when he participated in Tuesday night’s candidate forum at Hannibal City Hall. Locke managed enough of a voice to convince the City Council to appoint him to fill the vacant Sixth Ward seat.

Married with two children, Locke is a life-long resident of Hannibal, minus the time he spent in the military.

Locke admitted to the Council he doesn’t have an agenda, other than to make “sound decisions.”

Locke fills the seat that has been open since Dr. Richard Draper, citing work conflicts, submitted a letter of resignation on Oct. 30.

According to city ordinances, Locke will serve until the next municipal election, which will be in April 2013. At that time a successor will be elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

Other candidates for the Council opening were David Klassen and Brian Powell. Mayor Roy Hark said both men were “worthy” of serving on the Council. He encouraged both men to run for office in April. The filing period for the April municipal election begins on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

Tuesday’s appointment marked the fourth time in four years that the City Council has needed to appoint someone to fill an open Council seat. Most recently it happened in 2010 when James Hark was selected in August to fill the Fifth Ward vacancy created when Jim Behymer resigned in June of that year. Council appointments were also necessary after the deaths of Jim Dexheimer (2008) and Kyle Wilson (2009).